Sunday, January 07, 2007

Tic Tac Fruit" could turn out to be a lemon for Ohioans unless - and
possibly even if - state legislators don't do something about it and similar
"games." "Tic Tac Fruit" is familiar to many in East Ohio. It is a video
"gaming" machine that looks and operates much like a video gambling machine.
It gained popularity last year because its promoters, claiming it was not
subject to the state's laws against gambling, opened up parlors with "Tic
Tac Fruit" and similar machines in many areas of the state, including ours.
Promoters of the machines claim they are not gambling devices because
players affect the outcome - whether they win or lose. But late last year, a
judge in Franklin County Common Pleas Court ruled that "Tic Tac Fruit" is a
gambling device. He noted that the machines are programmed to guarantee that
operators will make profits of 5 percent of the amount of money pumped into
each device. That means that player skill is not the critical factor, the
judge ruled. His ruling backs up the state Liquor Control Commission, which
has banned "Tic Tac Fruit" and similar games in licensed bars. But the judge
warned that new "gaming" machines - all designed to rake in money in large
quantities from players - will be designed. That may make it less easy for
the courts to rule that such devices are illegal gambling machines, he said.
In November, Ohio voters said no to legalized machine gambling at racetracks
and a few other locations. We don't believe they want to permit electronic
one-armed (or one-buttoned) bandits masquerading as "games." That makes it
essential for legislators to take another look at Ohio's gambling laws and
close loopholes that allow devices such as "Tic Tac Fruit."